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Welcome to Samdal-ri korean drama review
Completed
Welcome to Samdal-ri
0 people found this review helpful
by Cas
Mar 1, 2024
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed
Overall 8.0
Story 7.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 8.5
Rewatch Value 4.0
This review may contain spoilers

So many writing problems

I liked the overall vibes of family, friendship and healing. Good comedic timing and the most dramatic parts were very touching. I was really moved by the sequence of Yongpil's mother's death. It was all so sad... and poignant. The friendship between the leads' mothers was beautifully portrayed. I had a good time watching it, however the drama had many problems of narrative:

- I found Samdal a little annoying in the beginning. She seemed too self-focused and kinda oblivious of people around her. Her dream of making big in Seoul and leaving Jeju wasn't explained, like why she hates Jeju so much? Later she got better but still I couldn't empathise with her. She acted like this strong woman while in Seoul but after what her assistant did to her she just became too passive and forgiving. She never did anything to change what happened to her or to make justice. When things are resolved in the end, is bc other people did. And let's not forget that she accepted to work with her ex, who cheated on her with her assistant and helped that same assistant to screw her up. It didn't make sense!
- Yongpil was a little disappointing as well. He lacked a story of his own. He never stood up against his father to defend Samdal. Basically, all the drama with his father was poorly written. But not as much as his love for forecasting. He dreamed of working abroad but we only know that through third parties cuz he doesn't say this not even once. He set himself and his dreams aside for FL the whole time. It was not good. Ji Chang Wook is great and I only liked his character bc of him.
- The romance could've been better. I mean, every moment potentially romantic is always linked to their past together. So there's little swoony moments of them in the present time. Their chemistry could be better explored. Samdal never showed that she still had feelings for him. They spend a lot of time interacting together with other characters. Idk if I just wasn't caught on the couple but I felt smth was lacking.
- Sangdo's one-sided love was boring. I never really like love triangles, it's one of the worst tropes, but they can be bearable if done right. But I hate when the third wheel is such a good person that is only there to suffer. For real, that's his only function in the narrative. He loved Samdal his whole life, she never got to know his feelings, and Yongpil didn't really care so... yeah... he's there to suffer. alone. forever. UGH!
- Isn't it annoying when people in dramas hide an important info abt themselves to sPAre EveRybOdy frOm wOrRyiNg. Seriously, why was FL's mother hiding such a serious thing (like a heart problem!) from her daughters?! But I do understand that they never bothered to come home even once for their family so it served them best.
- What happened to Bang Eunju? I know she lost credibility in the fashion world but did she give up attacking Samdal seeing she was obsessed with her? How did she end up?
- Many things were left for the last episode. a) Haedal's history with swimming and interest in being a haenyeo was only brought up in the last eps so it didn't have more screentime to develop this storyline. b) Jindal's history with her ex felt rushed to me. It wasn't clear how his relationship with his family was resolved. Did his family accept her? Are they in a secret relationship? Does his family still treat him like garbage? It was a mess. c) Sangdo, Gyeongtae and Eunwoo's success in Seoul was a surprise. After failing in mainland, they never showed any interest in going back and trying again. Samdal's dream was always in the forefront and everybody helped her with it but nobody ever talked abt THEIR dreams and wishes. Besides, they all had good jobs in Jeju. Why leaving? Why success can only happen in Seoul? Also, does anyone know why Sangdo is rich? Just too many plot holes.

OSTs are very good and were present during the whole series. The more melancholic ones played during sad scenes were the best. They really helped me connecting with these moments. Visuals were great too. Jeju is a beautiful place and they used it well.

To conclude, it had a lot of problems of writing but it was an enjoying drama overall. It wasn't as bad as I made it seem although it could've been a lot better.
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